THOOTHUKUDI: The seventeenth coach of a 59-coach freight wagon, hauling coal from the Thoothukudi VOC port to Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL) in Pugalur, Karur district, caught fire on Tuesday.
Sources said the staff at Kadambur railway station spotted the blaze by noticing burning pieces of coal near the tracks, soon after the wagon crossed the station. The train manager was immediately alerted, and the wagon was stopped at Kovilpatti railway station, where the railway staff spotted the seventeenth coach on fire. Subsequently, the electricity supply to the powerlines was suspended, and fire and safety personnel from Kovilpatti and Kazhugumalai doused the fire after nearly two hours of effort.
Sources said the cause of the fire accident is yet to be ascertained. As a result of the fire extinguishing efforts, trains passing through the Kovilpatti junction were delayed by nearly an hour, after which they were allowed to operate through the first and second platforms, added sources.